Robbery suspect tased, arrested after high-speed pursuit

Deputies said a suspect is in custody in today's second high-speed pursuit.

November 3, 2010|By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel

Deputies said one suspect is in custody and another is still at large after a robbery became a high-speed pursuit in Orange County on Wednesday.

Orange County sheriff's Capt. Angelo Nieves said the pursuit began with an armed robbery. Deputies were called to an Advance America store on Colonial Drive after a reported robbery about 4:35 p.m.

Nieves said the two armed suspects fled after the robbery in a blue Audi. Pursuing deputies lost the vehicle as it fled southbound on Dean Road toward Lake Underhill Road.

Deputies momentarily disengaged, but were quickly back to the chase. An off-duty deputy who had been monitoring the situation on a radio scanner spotted the suspects' vehicle in the Cypress Springs subdivision off of Dean Road near Curry Ford Road, Nieves said.

However, Nieves said the suspects took off again and deputies were unable to catch up. Then, a sheriff's office search helicopter spotted the vehicle, feeding its location to deputies as the Florida Highway Patrol monitored the situation.

The helicopter tracked the suspects across Curry Ford Road to Alafaya Trail, where deputies said the vehicle lost control twice as it maneuvered through traffic. The first time, Nieves said, the driver regained control.

The second time, he said, the driver crashed – sending one woman to a local hospital after he struck three vehicles near Colonial Drive, deputies said.

Nieves said the driver then fled on foot, but was chased down by a nearby Florida Highway Patrol trooper, who caught the man trying to carjack a vehicle to make another escape attempt.

Nieves said the suspect tried to fight off the trooper, who used a Taser to subdue the man, arresting him with the aid of a deputy who had arrived on scene.

The passenger in the vehicle is still at large, after deputies said he fled on foot. Nieves said the man is considered "armed and dangerous."

"Robbery investigators responded to the scene and are conducting additional follow-up in order to identify the second subject and make an arrest," Nieves said in a statement.

Though he has not yet been booked into jail, Nieves said the driver faces robbery, fleeing and eluding and attempted carjacking charges "at a minimum." Officials have not yet released the driver's name.

As deputies searched for the passenger, nightmarish traffic conditions were reported in the area.

Deputies reported "heavy congestion" and a caller told the Sentinel that traffic on Colonial Drive was backed up to Dean Road just before 6 p.m.

Traffic authorities reported at the time that southbound Alafaya Trail was closed south of Colonial Drive due to police activity.

The East Orange County high-speed pursuit was the second in Central Florida on Wednesday, and also the second to involve Orange County deputies that day.

An earlier pursuit lasted more than two hours in Brevard and Orange counties, ending just after 3:20 p.m. Wednesday with four carjacking suspects under arrest, authorities said